The day I began to work on this article for Memorial Day, I reminisced a bit, and found tears rolling down my cheeks. I was thinking about my buddies who did not come home from Vietnam. Soon I was thinking about my buddies that were in Korea who did come home, but left many friends there. Then I began thinking about all the veterans that died have for me. For all of us.
Do you ever think about those veterans who died for you? I hope so. And I hope that it affects you that same way it does me. I know it may not, but it should. A lot of our young men and women have given much in military service for us and the freedoms we enjoy. Many gave their lives.
Some statistics according to Wikipedia:
666,441 — U.S. military have died in combat in all U.S. wars
673,929 — non- military U.S. have died in combat in all U.S. wars
1,354,664 — total killed in combat
1,498,240 – were wounded in combat in all wars
40,031 — are listed as missing in action (MIA)
The Department of Veterans Affairs says that approximately 57 million have served in the U.S. military with 44.1 million serving during wartime. CNN says that in 2018 there were 18.2 million veterans in the U.S. or approximately 9% of the population. The Department of Defense says that today 1.4 million are serving in the United States military, which is 0.4% of the population.
In 2016, approximately 20 million veterans were enrolled the VA Health care system. More than 4 million veterans have a “service-connected disability,” defined as disease or injury (mental or physical) incurred or aggravated during active military service.
Did you know any of those statistics?
These are staggering statistics if you think about it. So many sacrificed so much. For us.
I pray that all of you take a few minutes on Memorial Day to remember. There are many ways to remember and to honor our veteran dead: parades, ceremonies, barbecues, parties etc. Or just stop what you are doing for a few minutes to remember.
The Bible says in Romans 14:7: “For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.” There are those that we have never met that forever influence our lives by losing theirs.
You could even join many of the local veterans (VFW, American Legion, Marine Corps League, AmVets and others) and civic (Elks, Lions, DAR and others) organizations on Monday at 11 a.m. at Fern Hill Cemetery in Aberdeen for a short ceremony and laying of wreaths to honor our veterans.
Please remember: Many of our young men and women have sacrificed greatly around the world, to protect our country, our rights and freedoms, our allies, and the flag of the United States of America. I am proud to have been one of them, and would gladly defend this great country again today or any day.
Jim Daly is a member of the Aberdeen Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 224, and the Vietnam Veterans of America.
